Managing Files

Renaming and Relocating Files

You don't need to keep your source code files in your project folder. In fact, since source code is what's important here, and projects can easily be recreated, I prefer to store my source code files separately from my projects so that I can easily delete any unneeded project folders without fear that I'll be losing something important.

You can rename files in the Navigator as needed. If you want to move a file to another location, first remove it from the project by right-clicking on the file in the Navigator and select “Delete” from the popup menu; indicate that you only want to “Remove Reference” to the file in the confirmation dialog box that appears. Move the file to its new location using whatever method you're most comfortable with outside of Xcode, then add the relocated file back into your project using “Add Files to «Your Project»…” (right-click on the folder immediately below your project in the Navigator).

Reusing Projects

Rather than creating a new project for each and every program, some students prefer to use a single project and add and remove files as needed. This can be particularly helpful if you simply want to run a source code file that you've downloaded.

Right-click on the folder immediately below your project in the Navigator, and you'll have the option to “Add Files to «Your Project»…” in the menu that appears. Navigate to and select the file that you want to add to your project. (You can also “cut-and-paste” source code into the editor window, but that can get a bit messy.)

Avoid Multiple Main Modules

Because Xcode simply compiles whatever source code happens to be in your project at the time, you can only have one file with a main() module in the project when you're ready to build — otherwise, the compiler will not be able to determine the starting point for your program.

You can remove any extra files from the project by right-clicking on a file in the Navigator selecting “Delete”. Choose “Remove Reference” in the confirmation dialog box that appears, unless you want to delete the file entirely and move it to the Trash.